Theo didn't get a long briefing. He got a destination.
Reach the monorail. No delay.
The Torch Bike howled as he cut through Aoshima's evening lanes, Vanguard markings flashing while cars peeled aside instinctively. Streetlights streaked into long bands of amber and white as he leaned into a turn, straightened, and pushed harder, the engine climbing into a sharper, more violent pitch.
"Sector C-7. Carvalho Theo," he said into his earpiece, voice steady despite the speed. "Response unit inbound. Harbor Line 02, report your condition."
A burst of static, then the operator's voice broke through, tight and strained. "Harbor Line 02 here. Distortion confirmed along the rail. We can't decelerate. Brakes are jammed or being interfered with. We're still moving fast over open water."
Theo's jaw set as he slipped past a delivery truck with a meter to spare. "Do you have visual on the anomaly?"
"Affirmative," the operator replied, and somewhere behind his words metal groaned like it was being bent by force. "A Malform manifested on the line. It got onto the roof several cars back. One person is outside engaging it."
Theo's grip tightened on the handlebar. "Engaging? Who cleared that?"
"Negative," the operator said quickly. "He forced the roof hatch. Says it's targeting him."
Theo didn't waste time arguing with a situation that was already moving. "Passenger count."
"High," the operator answered. "Mostly civilians, some Institute students. Structure is holding, but the Malform's hit the roof multiple times. If we stop mid-span and lose stability, we go into the sea."
Theo exhaled once, sharp and controlled. "Maintain course. Don't attempt a full stop unless you're about to break apart. We're coming in from the westbound highway. ETA under five."
A heavy impact rattled through the line, followed by the operator's grim add-on. "You might want to make that 'under five' your religion. Whatever's up there isn't slowing down."
"Copy," Theo said, and dropped lower over the frame as he opened the throttle fully. The Torch Bike surged like it had been waiting for permission.
"Hang on, Kisaragi," he muttered, more to himself than the comms. "Don't do anything stupid."
He tore down the coastal road, threading between lanes without losing momentum. A sedan drifted wide; he dipped past it cleanly. The road curved along the seawall and he took it hard, tire noise screaming against asphalt, then snapped upright into the straightaway like he'd been shot forward.
A truck clogged the next stretch. Theo didn't brake. He cut to the narrow shoulder, skimmed the edge, and rejoined through a tight gap with inches to spare. Ahead, the rail line stretched over the ocean, and even from here he could see it shaking.
Almost.
On the monorail roof, Takumi was hanging off the carriage edge, arm trembling while the wind tried to peel him away. Above him, the Malform crawled closer, claws carving into metal, jaw opening to finish the job.
Two shots cracked through the gale.
Neon resonance slammed into the creature's torso and burst outward like a paint bomb, radiant color splashing across ribs and sinew, hardening in jagged patches on contact. The impact threw the Malform backward across the roof, talons shrieking against steel as it skidded into the next carriage. It nearly went over, only catching itself at the last second when its tail hooked a seam between cars and yanked its body back.
Lyss was already moving. She cleared the gap in a single leap, landed low near the edge, and braced herself against the wind.
"Hurry! Hand!" she shouted.
Takumi reached. Their grips locked, and with one sharp pull from Lyss and a final push from him, he hauled himself back onto the roof. He hit on one knee, breath catching, while Lyss stayed crouched beside him to keep balance.
"You hurt?" she asked.
Takumi stood instead of answering at first, eyes already tracking the Malform as it rose on the carriage ahead. "I'm fine," he said, though his hand stayed pressed to his forearm.
Lyss saw the blood immediately, a dark smear at his sleeve. She dug into her bag, shoved a bandage into his palm, and didn't slow her voice. "Wrap it."
"Yeah." He tore it open with his teeth and wound it tight, fast, ignoring the way the wind punished every movement.
Across the gap, the Malform straightened fully and screamed again, its claws digging deeper as its aggression spiked.
Lyss snapped a fresh charge into one of her pistols, stance set. "Yeah… it's not done."
Takumi glanced at the glowing weapons in her hands. "So that's your Binder. Pistols."
Lyss exhaled like she'd just remembered the consequences. "Perfect. I just broke a rule that's gonna get me murdered tomorrow."
Takumi remembered her warning about student restrictions, but the roof under them was already scarred and shaking. Rules didn't mean much up here.
Lyss lifted her eyes to him. "You're brave, but you can't keep doing this with nothing. You don't have a Binder yet. Let me handle it."
Takumi's expression stayed flat. "Not happening."
Lyss blinked once, annoyed.
"I'm not standing back while you do everything," he said. "I hate being dead weight."
She gave him a sideways look, then let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. "I get it. I really do. But right now, you've already done more than enough."
She hesitated, then added quickly, like she hated asking. "Also… don't tell anyone about my Binder. What you see stays between us."
Takumi didn't understand why she'd say that after firing neon shots over open water, but he nodded anyway.
Lyss raised both arms. Neon resonance spiraled around her wrists as compact spheres of color formed in her palms, pulsing like condensed light. She hurled them forward.
They hit the rooftop around the Malform and detonated, not into fire, but into luminous graffiti bursts that spread in jagged patterns across the metal. The energy thickened and hardened midair, twisting into unstable surfaces that ruined the creature's footing.
Before the shockwave even finished expanding, Lyss crossed the gap, landing clean and light. The neon residue behind her crackled and flared, keeping the Malform boxed in just long enough.
She sprinted in, drew her right pistol with her left hand in one smooth motion, and fired on the move. A tight beam of neon resonance punched through the wind and snapped the Malform's arm sideways, throwing its balance off again.
It answered with a guttural screech and launched at her, claws spreading wide before slicing down in a diagonal kill-stroke.
Lyss kicked off the roof and vaulted over it, letting the claws shred air beneath her. The Malform's momentum slammed it into the metal. Mid-flip, she rolled cleanly across its back and fired again, the shot bursting between its shoulders and forcing a roar out of it.
She landed behind it in a low crouch, pistol leveled, wind snapping her hair across her face as the creature hauled itself upright and turned.
Lyss was smiling, neon flicker still dancing along the edges of her weapons, while Takumi watched from farther back, steadying himself against the crosswinds.
Then Lyss felt it change.
The Malform wasn't tracking her anymore. Its fractured gaze slid past her and locked onto Takumi like he was the only thing that mattered.
Her stomach dropped. "No—Takumi!"
She reached for another cluster bomb, but the Malform's tail snapped across the rooftop like a blade. It cracked into her wrist, knocked the device from her grip, and the bomb spun behind her before detonating into a violent spray of neon vapor. Color splashed across the roof in streaks of luminous paint, and pain flared hot across her wrist, but the creature had already turned away.
It didn't care about her now.
Its claws slammed down, folding the rooftop inward and throwing sparks into the wind. The Malform compressed low, spine tightening like a coiled spring, aligning with terrifying precision.
Then it launched.
The air seemed to crack as it cleared the gap in a single violent surge, claws out, maw open, distortion rippling in its wake. The distance vanished in seconds.
Takumi stood near the carriage edge, hoodie whipping, hair torn back by the wind, the ocean blurring below like a dark smear. He didn't step away. He didn't flinch.
The Malform's reflection grew fast in his eyes, every detail sharpening as it descended, shadow swallowing the sky behind it. It was too fast for Lyss to reposition, too fast for help to reach them.
Wind screamed. Metal shrieked.
And just before impact, the world narrowed to Takumi's eyes, steady and calculating, as if he'd already chosen his answer.
To be continued.